A 14-year-old freshman who cannot vote, cannot drive, and still needs permission slips for school trips is running for governor and forcing Vermont to confront a question most states have never faced.
Dean Roy is officially seeking the governor’s mansion in Vermont, the only state in the country with no age requirement to run for the office.
If elected, he would become the youngest governor in U.S. history by a wide margin.
“I really hope that this mission of mine leads to more youth getting involved,” Roy told the Daily Mail.
The idea started as a joke. At his eighth-grade graduation, a teacher joked about wanting to be Roy’s campaign manager someday.
Roy went home, looked up the law, and realized the run was legally possible. That was it. The campaign was born.
Roy is a freshman at Stowe Middle and High School. His running mate is his 14-year-old classmate, Charlie Bass, who is campaigning for lieutenant governor. Together, they are collecting the 500 signatures required to make the ballot and are just a few dozen short.
Unlike most teenage political stunts, Roy is running on a defined platform. His top issue is housing.
“The cornerstone of my platform is housing,” Roy said. “Housing is the biggest issue for Vermont, for New England, and for the country.”
He wants to build homes for $150,000 or less to make ownership realistic for young families and workers. Roy argues Vermont’s aging population is pushing the state toward economic decline.
“We are a dying state,” he said. “We need new workers to keep our economy alive. The only way to get new workers is to incentivize young people to live here.”
Vermont’s median age is 43, making it one of the oldest states in the country. Senator Bernie Sanders is 84. Roy has leaned into that contrast, framing his campaign as a direct challenge to what he calls elder rule politics.
Roy is not running as a Democrat or Republican. Instead, he founded the Freedom and Unity Party, making him the youngest political party founder in U.S. history. He says Vermont Democrats are too far left, national Republicans are too far right, and a third party made the most sense.
He supports freedom from electric vehicle mandates, restructuring the school system, and what he describes as common-sense economic reform, per the Daily Mail.
Roy has spent time door-knocking, posting political videos on Instagram, and hanging around the local post office to talk with older voters. He says the reaction has been surprisingly positive.
The campaign is legally sound. Roy confirmed he spoke directly with Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas. The requirements are simple. Four years of residency, 500 signatures, and filing on time. Roy meets all of them.
If he somehow wins, Roy says he would finish high school online while serving as governor.
His parents, who own a pizza shop, were initially stunned but are supportive. They help with transportation and logistics but have let Roy run the campaign himself.
